Oh yes, you can vote without photo ID

Pennsylvanians have some people to thank for seeing to the removal of a major voter impediment before the Nov. 6 presidential election.

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poconorecord.com

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Posted Oct. 10, 2012 at 12:01 AM

Posted Oct. 10, 2012 at 12:01 AM

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Pennsylvanians have some people to thank for seeing to the removal of a major voter impediment before the Nov. 6 presidential election.

A group of registered voters, the Homeless Advocacy Project, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Chapter of the NAACP rightly brought suit against the state's ill-conceived photo Voter ID law that would require all voters to present an approved photo ID in order to cast a ballot. Judge Robert Simpson sensibly concluded that the law would have a chilling effect on voting, since the millions of voters who don't have such an ID couldn't possibly all get one by November. The law will go into effect, but only next year.

So what's the next step? Without delay, the folks who were the biggest proponents of the new law — the Republican administration of Gov. Tom Corbett and GOP members of the legislature — should make sure every registered voter in Pennsylvania receives written assurance that they won't need the photo ID this time around. After all, they have been telling voters for months that they would need it. Only recently — just before Judge Simpson's decision, in fact — citizens received a full color mailer telling them to get the ID if they wanted to vote. Nothing's been sent out since then. Meanwhile, many Pennsylvania counties, including Monroe, that placed photo Voter ID requirement information on their websites haven't removed it. What if voters without photo ID still think they will be unable to vote?

The right to vote is just that, a right. Impediments shouldn't be put in the way, and the plaintiffs in the case were right to push back. Sadly, Pennsylvanians remain saddled with a future Voter ID law. But they're not encumbered with it this year, at least.

Election officials should trumpet that loud and clear so no one stays away from the polls thinking they can't vote.